Medicines Company, The

Abstract

It is early 2001 and the Medicines Co. just received FDA approval to market Angiomax, a blood thinner to be used during angioplasties and heart procedures. It is intended to be a better alternative to Heparin, an 80-year-old drug that costs less then $10 per dose. The company believes it can sell Angiomax for a much higher price than Heparin--but how much more? Angiomax also represents the first of several drugs being developed under a rather unique business model. The company is in the business of "rescuing" drugs that other companies have given up on--i.e., they purchase or license the rights to drugs that other companies have halted development on, with the intent of completing the development process and bringing the drug to market. With the success of Angiomax, the company feels that this business model has been validated.

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Note that this case often gets used with HBS Note #505-075, "Note on Innovation Diffusion: Rogers' Five Factors," which either can be distributed along with the case or after the case has been taught.